


Plastic Chairs in Empty Corridors

by ephemeralstark



Series: 300 tumblr followers celebration [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Appendicitis, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, MILD - Freeform, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24987376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralstark/pseuds/ephemeralstark
Summary: “Rationally?” Tony asked, his voice raising an octave with the incredulity of her words.“Yes, Tony, rationally,” May said, “you know, logically? Sensibly?”“I know what it means,” Tony said, “and we’ve been here for a while now, I’ve had time to think about it rationally and irrationally, and the only sensible solution I can come to is  to murder the kid.”“Great,” May said calmly, “glad to be pre-warned.”-A conversation between the two people who have made it their life goal to try and look out for the world's most disaster-prone kid.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: 300 tumblr followers celebration [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800472
Comments: 13
Kudos: 208





	Plastic Chairs in Empty Corridors

**Author's Note:**

> based on an anon prompt for the 300 follower celebration.

“I’m going to kill him,” Tony decided as he paced back and forth in front of the plastic chairs that were queued up along the wall outside the Med-Bay – something that had initially been surprising as they definitely hadn’t been there the last time.

Maybe the staff in there were taking pity on him since the kid was there so often that a facility Tony had once considered getting rid of due to lack of use, had recently received a funding raise.

“Now, Tony, take a moment to think rationally,” May said gently from where she was sat in one of the seats, looking at her phone rather than the pacing man as he was making her dizzy.

“Rationally?” Tony asked, his voice raising an octave with the incredulity of her words.

“Yes, Tony, rationally,” May said, “you know, logically? Sensibly?”

“I know what it means,” Tony said, “and we’ve been here for a while now, I’ve had time to think about it rationally and irrationally, and the only sensible solution I can come to is to murder the kid.”

“Great,” May said calmly, “glad to be pre-warned.”

Tony, however, wasn’t done. His pacing ceased momentarily as he stared at the unfrazzled woman sitting on the chair and wondered why _he_ was the one who looked like a madman, this was _her_ nephew.

“He had a mild headache last week,” Tony ranted, resuming his movements, “a _mild_ one, and do you know what he did? He got F.R.I.D.A.Y. to draft a will for him, which he then made legal. All of that because of a headache. He had too much caffeine one morning and suffered some palpitations, and guess what? Yup, he self-diagnosed a cardiac arrhythmia and read every available article F.R.I. could supply him with that related to heart conditions.”

“What’s your point?” May asked, finally placing her phone down on the empty chair beside her.

“He was having severe abdominal pain for days on end, he couldn’t stand up straight, he was vomiting and sporting a raging fever, his appendix _ruptured_ ,” Tony said, “and he just… went to school.”

“It’s Peter,” May said as though that made everything make sense, and Tony would be lying if he said it didn’t.

“He’s so smart sometimes and then others he’s…” Tony trailed off, leaving the words hanging in the air, they both knew exactly what he meant.

For an incredibly intelligent kid, Peter really was stupid sometimes. He never seemed to take his health seriously when it really mattered, that was why the team now had the rule that if the kid was complaining then he was fine. It was when he was quiet that they really needed to be concerned.

“Why don’t you have a seat, Tony?” May asked.

“I can’t, I need to… I just need to keep moving,” Tony said evasively.

“You know this isn’t your fault, right?” May asked.

“He was staying here,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow at her, “he was my responsibility.”

“And the day before he was here, he was with me,” May said, “as you said he was in pain for days, you can’t blame yourself for this one.”

“We agreed that I would deal with the Spider-Man issues and you would take care of the Peter issues,” Tony said quietly, “what-”

May cut him off instantly, “when did appendicitis and stubbornness become a solely Spider-Man problem?”

“I just worry that he ignored this because he was convinced that his Spider-Man abilities would heal him quicker,” Tony admitted.

“I don’t think that’s true,” May said quietly, “you admitted it yourself that he overreacted with the tiniest of things.”

“So, what do you think then?”

“I think he realised that something genuinely wasn’t right, but rather than asking for help like he should have done, he kept it to himself because he was scared,” May said, “Peter may be a hero to the residents of New York, he may be ridiculously brave and stubbornly selfless, but I think you need to remember that he’s also still a fifteen-year-old kid.”

“He was scared,” it wasn’t a question, it was a realisation.

“He’s a child.”

“I think I forget that sometimes,” Tony admitted, pausing his pacing as he stiffened up with the realisation, shame weighing down his shoulders.

“It’s alright, so do I,” May admitted, “after everything he’s been through; losing his parents, losing Ben, turning into a hero of the people, after all of that – it’s easy to forget that he isn’t an adult, especially as he was forced to grow up so quickly.”

“He deserves to be a kid,” Tony said, “how can we help him be a kid again?”

“I don’t know if we can,” May said with a sad smile, “but you know what we can do?”

Tony’s head snapped up to glance at her with a quizzical expression, “what?”

“We can go in there with candy and cuddly toys,” May said, “and we can let him forget about all the responsibilities that he’s placed on himself for one night.”

“And you think that’s gonna work?”

“Probably not,” May admitted, “there’s every chance that he’s going to feel obligated to try and go out as Spider-Man even though he’s injured.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

May laughed, the sound filling the empty hallway, “I’m glad you think so.”

“You think he’ll manage?”

“I think I had to drive two miles to pick him up from a Dungeons and Dragons event when he was eight because he snuck out of the house with chicken pox and a fever.”

Tony sighed, “what the hell is wrong with this damn kid?”

“You know you love him,” May said with a smile.

Tony threw himself down into one of the plastic chairs, a small smile playing on his lips as he looked at the Iron Man themed bunny in May’s hands – something that she had arrived at the Med-Bay with much to Tony’s amusement and chagrin.

“I’m still going to kill him,” Tony said in reply.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on tumblr @[ephemeralstark](https://ephemeralstark.tumblr.com/) where I accept prompts!! Thank you for reading my lovelies!! <3


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